‘My Disney opera isn’t about Mickey Mouse’

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The premiere of The Perfect American at the Teatro Royal, MadridJavier del Real/Teatro Real

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Philip Glass, the creator of The Perfect AmericanNew York Times/Redux/eyevine

Richard Morrison

Last updated at 12:01AM, May 21 2013

Philip Glass’s musical portrait uncovers the darkness in the life of the legendary animator, he tells Richard Morrison

So, I ask Philip Glass, is it a hatchet-job? The veteran master of minimalism
(though he now disowns the word) lets out a hollow, seen-it-all laugh. “No!”
he exclaims. “Everyone seemed to think I was going to trash Walt Disney, and
I know that some people are disappointed that I wasn’t meaner. But I see him
as an icon of modernity — someone who built bridges between high art and
populist entertainment.”

A bit like Glass himself, then? The composer tilts his head slightly in
concurrence with this happy thought. “Anyway,” he continues, “why would I
write an opera to make